Our hands…they tell a story and every story is different and every story leaves behind lasting memories. I recently had the most incredible privilege of not only photographing Joseph and Mary, but listening to their love story and realizing what devotion they had to each other. They were married June 22, 1938 and last year celebrated their 75th Wedding Anniversary. How amazing…how beautiful…and they still live together in their home sharing each day with one another. Joseph is now 98 and Mary is now 94 years young.

During our time together I asked each of them what was special about each other. Mary went first and this is what she shared with me. We always cared about each other, always enjoyed one another. He was loving and romantic and throughout all the years “She washed the dishes, he wiped”. She told me Joseph was very handy and if she needed anything done he could do it. Any problem, he managed to fix it. Even neighbors and relatives knew this about Joseph and they would bring things to him to fix. Perhaps Joseph learned about fixing things during his 30 plus years of working for Hamilton Standard as an assembler or maybe it was a gift from God. Joseph made the coffee every morning and still does. Since retirement he has also made her breakfast ever day. “How sweet is that?!”

When it came to Joseph’s turn this is what he shared with me. Mary did all the cooking and she was a great cook at that. Mary took good care of their home as a full time homemaker. When the children were in school Mary went to work part time as a seamstress for a local company and eventually had customers of her own. I was told she could sew anything!

Together they traveled many places but some of their favorite spots were Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Maine, Canada and they even attended the World’s Fair in New York City 3 times. Listening to them I could tell their hearts went out to be near the ocean. They loved the salt water… loved seafood and truly enjoyed camping with their family at Fisherman’s Memorial State Park.

Joseph and Mary are sweethearts from high school days. It was wonderful to hear how they were brought together. At the time, Mary’s sister was dating Joe’s brother. As kids they did many things together. From the start Joseph and Mary hit it off and their love affair began at the young age of 17 and 18. As their love story grew through the years, so did their family. God blessed them with a beautiful daughter and son. They now have 5 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

I do hope you enjoy these images as much as I did in creating them. May they move you in a way to love and love deeply the family and friends that surround you in your life.

While writing this blog post many tears flowed down my cheeks. As I was recalling our time together during their photo session, looking at the final images, and while I began to write this post I lost someone very dear and near to my own heart…my 91 year old mother in-law Dorothy. An incredible woman who touched the lives of so many. We feel extremely blessed to have had her in our lives for so many years but still a great loss.

Please take the time to tell your loved ones you love them…tell them how important they are in your life…show them your love. God Bless.

Joseph and Mary’s High School Photos.

I just love the look on Mary’s face. Priceless and Precious!This image stole my heart. Such love…such true love through all the years. I wonder what Mary was thinking as she was being held by her loving husband.An amazing looking couple for 94 and 98 years of age.Mary looking through one of her small albums reflecting on days gone by.A big heartfelt thank you to Joseph and Mary’s daughter Jean, for without her this time together would not have been possible.May their love carry on.

Thank you for sharing this beautiful love story with us. What an inspiration they are, and I know how blessed their grandson Eric feels. I am Eric’s aunt by marriage and hope one day to have the honor of meeting this lovely couple!

Deborah Vivona -January 18, 2014 - 7:09 pm

What beautiful photography and wonderful writings…
I love the B&W photography and that you captured the love they have for each other…What a great idea to capture love everlasting!!!

Karen -January 18, 2014 - 7:33 pm

Simply Beautiful – their love story and these pictures that capture it perfectly. May we all be so blessed.

Elizabeth -January 18, 2014 - 8:28 pm

Catherine, this is just a beautiful story and your images are so precious. What a wonderful job.

Marge -January 18, 2014 - 8:42 pm

Wonderful beautiful love story!

Wendy -January 18, 2014 - 8:51 pm

Beautiful and touching story. Love the picture of the hands. My grandfather used to make my grandma’s coffee every morning, too. Reminds me of their story.

Lauren T. -January 19, 2014 - 9:02 am

Dear Catherine, this post is so beautifully written and beautiful photos. You truly have been given a gift from above to capture such images.

What a beautiful love story and the images truly tell of their love story. Beautifully written Catherine and you captured them so perfectly. It reminds me of my own grandparents who lived well into their 90’s and I was blessed to have photographed them together too. These photos of Joseph and Mary will certainly be cherished for many many years to come. And Congratulations to this beautiful sweet couple on their 75 years of marriage. This is one of my favorite blog posts to date….well done my friend.

Jen Schulten -January 20, 2014 - 4:05 pm

Beautiful photos and story!

Sharon -January 23, 2014 - 10:45 am

Oh Catherine, there are no words to express how this story and images touched my heart. You are an incredible artist. Remember that always. God has blessed you in so many ways.

Catherine You have a wonderful gift for telling a true story of forever love. And also showing them in photos. I’m happy to be able to call you my daughter for so many reasons. Also Your father always had coffee made for me in the morning and I miss that. LOVE YOU

Ana V. -January 27, 2014 - 7:16 am

This is a beautiful story with very beautiful photos. I couldn’t stop reading it, it is just… an enviable history. Love you Catherine!

lucille -February 7, 2014 - 12:09 pm

My two dearest people of this world who are very much in love are an inspiration to all!

Tricia -February 8, 2014 - 10:24 am

This is my great aunt and uncle. I haven’t been able to see them in a long time but have great memories of them when I was little. They are truly a great inspiration for any couple.

It’s a New Year with new beginnings and new adventures just waiting to evolve but before I jump into the new year I want to share a bit of the most wonderful Christmas gift I received…the month of December for me. Time to spend with family and friends…times that brought me such joy…times I will forever cherish. So here’s to December and many of it’s happenings.

A bit of snow at the beginning of the month put me quickly in the Holiday mood even though there were still some leaves to be found.Cozy fires…reading and watching many Hallmark movies. Iphone photo!Christmas shopping and lunch with good friends. Iphone photo again!

My dear mother in-law Dorothy Cella who’s 91 came to stay with us for two weeks. These were the best two weeks!Homemade pasta with homemade meatballs was our enjoyment for this day. Yummy!A family adventure to get our Christmas tree. Love Hemlock tree farm…we’re going to miss you!Dot had the privilege of hanging the Christmas nail..a nail that helps us remember what Christ did for us and making our tree a “CHRISTmas” tree.I loved all the snow we were blessed with the week before Christmas.I had a few days to be creative and I enjoyed photographing everything white and it was a winter wonderland time.Ellington folks…do you remember this dairy farm?I loved putting my new prop to good use. It stayed decorated and full of packages throughout the Christmas season.The stocking were hung inside and out!Just love this old sled.Time to write out all the Christmas cards. A job I truly did enjoy.I broke down and did one mini photo session this month for a good friend of mine. Here are her two beautiful daughters.My son Michael and I made many gingerbread cookies. I have come to realize they’re one of my favorite! Pinterest came in handy for ideas when I wanted to create a festive vegetable platter for a party. I just LOVE Pinterest!Michael and I made Almond Spritz Cookies too. A lot of time spent decorating these but aren’t they so pretty?Michael helped his grandmother build her first gingerbread house. I had fun playing with my camera creating a bokeh Christmas tree.Christmas day with the Cella family! What a fun bunch! I am beyond blessed to have such a wonderful family. It was the BEST Christmas ever and I am so thankful
that I took the month of December to just enjoy. The holiday season was filled with Love, Joy and True Happiness. Now onto 2014!

All these photos were shared with family and friends on Facebook. So if you would like to keep up with my latest please click “LIKE” on my page.

Beautiful pictures, as always Catherine! Each one would make a wonderful Christmas card cover!

Happy New Year!

Sharon -January 10, 2014 - 8:01 am

Catherine, I have missed seeing your blog posts. What a wonderful gift you gave yourself. From the look of the photos you certainly had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year! I hope it brings you much happiness.

I sincerely wish all my family and friends the most Blessed Christmas ever! Share the true meaning of Christmas with those you meet and spread the love. May 2014 bring you everything you could ever dream of and so much more. Thank you for helping to bring Joyful Reflections Photography a truly wonderful year! I treasure each of you! God Bless. I know it’s been a while since I blogged because I decided to give myself the greatest Christmas gift this season….precious time with my family and friends. Life is to short…I’m living it and I hope you are too! Happy New Year!